The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War | Andrew J. Bacevich

The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War | Andrew J. Bacevich | Good, but doesn't go nearly far enough; and neglects Peak Oil

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	The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War Andrew J. Bacevich Oxford University Press, USA, 2006 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 64 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A Roadmap to a Sane National Security

Andrew Bacevich, writing in a style that is easy-to-read and logical, tells us both how we got into the sorry state we are in militarily and how to extricate ourselves from it. He does not rant nor deprecate. He taught me much about the interplay between the professional military and politicians over the past 90 years. He explains the origins of the All-Volunteer Army and why we should be afraid of it. He explains how we have lost sight of our forefathers' conception of what the military was for. He explains why the military and civilians need to trust one another and work in partnership. Most of all, he outlines a ten-point program to get us back to where we need to be to best function as a good citizen of the world while insuring our own security and sustainability.

Bacevich gets my vote as the next Secretary of Defense.

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Good, but doesn't go nearly far enough; and neglects Peak Oil

Bacevich rightly points out that we are in the midst of an "American Empire," military basis and all, and that many Americans are indeed seduced by that. That seduction includes the semantic denial that we could even be an empire, since we're not ruled by an emperor.

But, Bacevich, in his prescription for solving this, seems all too willing to settle for "Empire Lite." And that's not good. It's like using methodone maintenance for heroin addiction rather than getting off it entirely.

No, scratch that. It's like using powder cocaine for crack addiction rather than getting off it entirely.

Also, in his analysis of today's highly mechanized American armed forces, and the fact that the locus of empire seems to be the Middle East, it's a huge oversight for Bacevich to not even discuss Peak Oil and its possible imperial ramifications.

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Hard to understand in parts but okay overall

The author knows what he is talking about however there are parts of the book that you have to re-read because they are hard to understand. Especially if you don't have any military background or aren't familiar with the politics that revolve around the issues of the Vietnam and Gulf Wars.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, page 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

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